Feeling all the cuts of an appendicitis operation: they report an error in the anesthesia at the Hospital of Granollers

BarcelonaRoger Ferrer has been waiting for years for a response to his claim regarding medical negligence. In February 2022, he underwent an appendectomy at the Granollers Hospital and an error in the machine that administered his anesthesia caused him to feel the incisions throughout the operation, even though his muscles were indeed sedated and he could neither move nor warn of what was happening. "I felt the pain of the operation's incisions and how they were digging in. I lived through an experience of death while alive and I have not been the same since," he explained in an interview with Eldiario.es.Accompanied by his lawyer, Lucia Gonzalez-Cuevas, he initiated an administrative claim, a mandatory procedure in cases like this before being able to file a lawsuit. The lawyer explains to ARA that the goal is for the administration to recognize negligence and compensate Ferrer for the psychological aftermath he still carries today and which have caused him to leave his job as an educator with minors under guardianship. "He has claustrophobia, he is on alert for everything," the lawyer explains.

Administrative silence

Gonzalez-Cuevas clarifies that the claim is not directed against the anesthesiologist or any specific professional, but solely against the administration. The process remains stalled and Gonzalez-Cuevas reports that the response from the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) has so far continued to be administrative silence. In the administrative claim, they did not ask for a specific amount because when they filed it, Ferrer was still on medical leave, and the count of days of incapacity influences the calculation of the compensation. The amount claimed also influences the procedure for claims like this one. When the figure exceeds 50,000 euros, as Gonzalez-Cuevas anticipates, before issuing a ruling, the ICS must request a report from the Catalan Institute of Medical Evaluations (ICAM).

So far, Ferrer has not received a response to his claim. Gonzalez-Cuevas explains that he has also contacted the Ombudsman and that this very Wednesday he insisted again to the ICS, demanding a response that puts an end to the administrative silence.